''Conospermum caeruleum'', commonly known as blue brother, is a species of flowering plant in the
family Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...
and is endemic to the south west of
Western Australia. It is a prostrate shrub with small, dense heads of blue, rarely pink flowers and usually grows in heavy soils subject to flooding.
Description
It grows as a prostrate or straggly shrub usually growing to a height of about and a spread of up to . The leaves are clustered at the base of the stem, have a stalk and a leaf blade that is thread-like to egg-shaped and . The leaves have prominent veins and end abruptly in a sharp point. The flowers are arranged in dense clusters of up to 18 tube-like blue flowers, each about long. Flowers appear between July and October and are followed by the fruit which is a
nut about long and wide.
Taxonomy
''Conospermum caeruleum'' was first formally described in 1810 by
Robert Brown and the description was published in ''
Transactions of the Linnean Society of London'' from a specimen collected near "
King George's Sound, west coast of
New Holland".
The
specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
(''caeruleum'') is a
Latin word meaning "sky-blue".
Six subspecies are recognised by the
Australian Plant Census as at November 2020:
*''Conospermum caeruleum''
R.Br. subsp. ''caeruleum''
*''Conospermum caeruleum'' subsp. ''contortum''
E.M.Benn.
Eleanor Marion Bennett (born 4 February 1942) (née Scrymgeour) is an Australian botanist who was employed by the Western Australian Herbarium from 1965 to 1970. She collected ''Eucalyptus'' species in the south-west of Western Australia and pu ...
*''Conospermum caeruleum'' subsp. ''debile''
( Kippist ex Meisn.) E.M.Benn.
*''Conospermum caeruleum'' subsp. ''marginatum''
(Meisn.) E.M.Benn.
*''Conospermum caeruleum'' subsp. ''oblanceolatum''
E.M.Benn.
*''Conospermum caeruleum'' subsp. ''spathulatum''
Benth. E.M.Benn.
Distribution and habitat
''Conospermum caeruleum'' occurs from
Busselton
Busselton is a city in the South West region of the state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destination for Western Australians; however, the closure of the Busselton ...
to east of
Albany in the
Avon Wheatbelt,
Esperance,
Geraldton Sandplains,
Jarrah Forest,
Mallee,
Swan Coastal Plain
The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...
and
Warren biogeographical
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, i ...
regions of Western Australia
growing on sand, sandy peat, stony clay, laterite or granite in areas that are wet in winter.
Use in horticulture
''Conospermum'' species, especially the Western Australian ones are difficult to cultivate.
Conservation status
''Conospermum caeruleum'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.
Gallery
Conospermum_caeruleum_subsp._caeruleum_-_Flickr_-_Kevin_Thiele.jpg, ''C. caeruleum'' subsp.''caeruleum''
Conospermum caeruleum subsp. caeruleum - Flickr - Kevin Thiele (1).jpg, ''C. caeruleum'' subsp.''caeruleum''
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15574845
Eudicots of Western Australia
caeruleum
Endemic flora of Western Australia
Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)
Plants described in 1810